How to Sneak a Claymore Onto a Flight

Well, this is embarrasing. In addition to patting down harmless old ladies and small children in the name of security, the TSA is also really good at letting Claymore antipersonnel mines through its screenings. Yup, TSA agents at Newark International Airport in New Jersey stopped an employee of the Army’s Picatinny Arsenal with two inert Claymores in her carry-on baggage (well done, TSA) but they failed to detect a third mine that was being loaded into the plane’s hold inside her checked bags (doh!).

A: What was she thinking even trying to bring these aboard an airplane

B: Thank God these were inert mines and not real explosives.

This reminds me of an experience I had at Oakland International years ago (actually, it was the day the TSA freaked out about liquids aboard flights) where a TSA agent found an antique letter opener that I had accidentally put in my carry-on bag and, after touching the sharp-enough-to-kill-someone tip of the four to five-inch blade, put it back in my bag and told me to have a nice flight! Now, I’m very glad I got to keep the letter opener that my deceased father had left to me, but think about it; if I was some kind of terrorist or just a garden variety psycho, I could have easily stabbed someone aboard with it. Sigh.